Harbor Freight Sand Blasting Cabinet Problems

[N2 Welding]

Thank you HT2 I have both glass bead 80 grit and medium black diamond coal slag from tractor supply but can’t use either . It’s super frustrating to have a tool I’m not able to use.

[acourtjester]

The one in the image is about 40% larger then the plastic ones and the bigger on I have works great and holds a larger amount of debris. If you Google DIY dust cyclones you will find many different designs and sizes. Main thing is a top center outlet and a side inlet that has the air moving in a circular motion. This causes the dust to spin around the outside wall and the debris will fall out of the air stream before it goes out the top. I made mine out of a 30 Gal plastic Drum with a removable top cover. I copied this guys way of forming PVC pipe for the Vac hose sizes. Attached is a tool I made (his idea but smaller PVC) from spun MDF discs and sanded and clear coated. The small diameter is the size of the PVC inside and the larger is the size of my Vac hose connector outside diameter. Other images of my larger dust cyclone collector. Why buy when you can make here is the video of the guy I copied

[In Utopia]

I got a total of $.082 for a 90deg. elbow.
Had the other fitting and a 5 gallon plastic bucket.
Works great.
Only problem I still have is inconsistent abrasive feed.
Flex hose is not collapsing, it's pretty rigid.
Been lots of references to adding a hole somewhere, but there are no real details on how.
Looked at a thread on youtube using 2 tubes but can't find it now.

Some are recommending replacing the gun with one from TSC for around $20something. comes with pickup tube and hose.

[N2 Welding]

Some are recommending replacing the gun with one from TSC for around $20something. comes with pickup tube and hose.

Got a link? Any pics of your cyclone build.

Big dust collector jesture.

[N2 Welding]

Hey jesture, how do you turn the MDF down to a precise round shape. I am thinking it may be possible by chucking it up in a drill and running it in the drill against a belt sander until the desired size is achieved. Or is there an easier or better way?

[N2 Welding]

I bought two tubes of the loctite roof and flashing poly eurothane earlier as well as placed the orders for the Eastwood foot pedal and gun as well as a metered valve that will sit in the bottom of the media trap door under the hopper. It will be at least a week before the cyclone, foot pedal n gun and metered valve arrive which gives me time to strip the cabinet back down to be sealed up good with the poly eurathane caulking. I still need a regulator and siphon hose for the gun. I have some air line from a hose that got damaged that I can use for the air supply to the gun. After all that the last thing to do is make a intake baffle and plumb the vacuum to the cyclone and back side of the cabinet at the vent cap. Oh yeah and I will also need to upgrade the piss poor lighting then it should be enjoyable to use. I would really like a flip up top lid. But I’m going to hold off on that mod for now until I get some use out of it and decide it would be worth the effort required to hinge the top lid.

[Hobbytime]

The one in the image is about 40% larger then the plastic ones and the bigger on I have works great and holds a larger amount of debris. If you Google DIY dust cyclones you will find many different designs and sizes. Main thing is a top center outlet and a side inlet that has the air moving in a circular motion. This causes the dust to spin around the outside wall and the debris will fall out of the air stream before it goes out the top. I made mine out of a 30 Gal plastic Drum with a removable top cover. I copied this guys way of forming PVC pipe for the Vac hose sizes. Attached is a tool I made (his idea but smaller PVC) from spun MDF discs and sanded and clear coated. The small diameter is the size of the PVC inside and the larger is the size of my Vac hose connector outside diameter. Other images of my larger dust cyclone collector. Why buy when you can make here is the video of the guy I copied

if you want to increase the dust stopping put a few inches of water or oil in the bottom of the barrel.....

[In Utopia]

OK, I'm a simple guy, so simple solutions make sense to me.
Dust collection, copied this from someone who did it and it worked. I may have made a mistake by not putting the vacuum outlet in the middle of the lid (less turbulence) but so far can't believe how good it works. Cost, less than $1.
New plastic viewing glass. Not glass, free windshield from a golf cart.
Blast cabinet, free. Po got tired of messing with it.
Now for the good part.
Took a tip from another guy who said to shove the HF gun where the sun don't shine and get one from TSC.
Drove the 42 miles to get one, get there, they have one left, open the box, no hose or pickup tube. Result, paid $11.
Picked up 2 sacks $7.99 media, both grits.
Cleaned out the old media, put the new gun on, added some of the finer grit..................shazaam. Constant media flow that knocked both mill scale and rust in heartbeat.





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[N2 Welding]

So since the TSC gun was missing the siphon tube what did you end up doing for that?

[acourtjester]

N2 I used my lathe to turn the MDF plug down to size and then sanded it smooth before clear coating it. I did not state that you need to heat the PVC with a heat gun to make it soft for reforming.
Here are a few images of my blast cabinet, Whe lighting the inside use LED lights the old incandescent bulbs get hot and the dust sticks to it. I put some receptacles and a switch to turn the lights and vacuum on/off together. I have the air entering the cabinet using a quick disconnect outside and a "T" inside with the blast gun and a blow gun to clean off parts before removing. I syphon tube in internal to the cabinet too. I did change the shape and depth of the bottom to improve the syphon flow.

[In Utopia]

So since the TSC gun was missing the siphon tube what did you end up doing for that?

Used the original HF one which actually proves it wasn't the pickup tube, but instead it was the gun.
Looking for stuff to blast just because it works so good.

[N2 Welding]

Starting over, pulled the glass beads out, pulled the glass gloves and gun and took it out to my lawn and hosed and wiped it down really good. Then Inpulled the legs and hopper off the cabinet. That is where I stopped. I will continues to break the hopper down in the morning. I think I am going to cut the floor screen down some like in the Alvarez vids.

[EastCocCo925]

Ive seen one of these Sand blasting cabinets sealed up and turned into a purged cabinet for TIG.. I think it was in a Covell video if anybody was interested its on youtube

[N2 Welding]

Jester looks like you made your own cabinet. Originally I wanted to make one using tins from washing and drying machines. Would have saved me some scratch. I just don’t have the time or drive at the moment. Yours looks very user friendly.

I started sealing up the cabinet and hopper chute today. I also purchased the Gun at TSC and although it works 100 times better than the harbor freight gun it is still not 100%. I used it on my front lawn with the siphon tube stuck in a bag of medium black diamond coal slag. I figured it would be nice to have a portable gun for parts to big to fit in the cabinet.

[acourtjester]

Yes sir sure did, you can add the options you want that way

[N2 Welding]

I'm interested in what appears to be a late 20's - early 30's cab on the body rotisserie in the back ground.

[acourtjester]

That is my 34 Ford Fordor Sedan Street Rod
I have done a ton of work on it ran out of steam to finish it

[N2 Welding]

The new aluminum wheels are very similar to the wheels on my '95 EB Bronco. That will be a sweet ride when finished. It's still a sweet ride just not drivable in the last pic.

I was just thinking maybe I could route the exhaust from my shop vac back into the cabinet. Any thoughts on that?

[N2 Welding]

Just saw the same blast gun I got at TSC for $10.00 less on Amazon :/

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0007D30DO..._t2_B07889P7TK

[pgk]

This video might help?

[N2 Welding]

Thank you Pete. I watched that one a couple of times already. I am going with the mods Alvarez has posted in his youtube videos which eliminates the siphon tube all together. I don't have the better older style harbor freight blast cabinet. I have the newest cheapest version with tube inside tube siphon tube which don't work for beans. Not enough air passes through the tubes to vent like it should. I may eventually build a siphon tube like the one in that video you linked and like the ones that use to come with the better harbor freight cabinets. If when I do though it will be for parts that are too big too fit in the cabinet.

[pgk]

N2, keep us filled in on what you end up doing to your bead blaster to finally get it to work, I've been looking for a low cost unit as well and for what little I would use this looks like it might fit the bill??

[N2 Welding]

will do.

[Steveoo]

I went with the Tacoma Co. System on my HF blast cabinet.
It was not cheap but the cabinet is a real pleasure to use now. Media changes are reasonably quick too. Made a cyclone dust collector for it too as well as putting better lights inside.
All said and done it just works now. No more frustration or fiddling around.

[N2 Welding]

I went with the Tacoma Co. System on my HF blast cabinet.
It was not cheap but the cabinet is a real pleasure to use now. Media changes are reasonably quick too. Made a cyclone dust collector for it too as well as putting better lights inside.
All said and done it just works now. No more frustration or fiddling around.

This is what I am attempting to achieve at half the cost of the kit. $300-$400+ for a kit is way too much IMO. However if you call and talk to Mike at Tacoma Co. he will walk you through all the pro's of his systems and explain what and why things need to be done a specific way. Very informative man. He had his wife email me a price list. I would post it up but don't have his permission and don't think it's appropriate. I thanked him and let him know I was a cheap *** and did not think I would be buying one of his full blast cabinet kits.